The time was night time, midnight under a new moon to be specific. The shadows were darker than on the other nights, and they also seemed to cover everything completely save for what is illuminated under an artificial light. Tonight was one such night with the conditions described along with a slight cool breeze in the wind, and a lone figure gazing upon the water-park entitled Raging Waterfalls with his intense blue eyes which screamed of curiosity.

This figure's name was Aiden, and his reasoning for being here during the nighttime, standing under a streetlight and staring at the park that had closed down for the night was already a question which his eyes answered for him. Curiosity. Curiosity which fueled him to come and check the place out, and curiosity which drove him to get in in whatever way he could, which because he couldn't afford admission before meant he had to sneak in later on in order to take a look for himself.

Giving out a small sigh, relaxing his body, the navy-haired boy would walk out of the brightly illuminated space of the streetlight and move right over to the chain-link fence separating him from the park. It seemed like a simple enough climb over the top, and since the patrolling security guard already just went by, Aiden should have plenty of time to climb it. He would reach into the pockets of his white jacket, pulling out a pair of finger-less gloves and putting them on before he began climbing the fence.

As he sat upon the top, his tail swayed from side to side from excitement. He was looking forward to getting an inside look at the park, enough so that he jumped off of the top of the fence and landed on the ground with a small thud before walking deeper into the darkness, making sure to not make a sound. Before he could begin checking out the place though, an arm suddenly wrapped itself around his neck, beginning to choke the life out of him while the faint glimmer of a knife appeared before his eyes, threatening to cut him.

"I finally caught up to you, you little bastard. You may have lost us in that sandstorm, but it was foolish of you to act as though you would escape as easily as that. I never let my property go.. Never!"

An all too familiar voice rang out as two more dark figures appeared in front of him, both of which had a pair of shackles in their hands, closing in on him as if they're going to bind his arms and legs in order to prevent escape. Aiden was panicking. He didn't know what to do and with the force that his old master was using in order to choke him, he couldn't even breathe let alone focus on escaping. He needed help and fast.

From atop the steel structure of an unnamed water slide Kyohei looked down upon the expanse of the park. It was only earlier that day that he had attended the park himself as a tourist. It was strange; without the crowds of people or the distractions created by the park’s attractions he could now see the park more clearly than he could when he was a paid visitor. An almost eerie silence fell over the shadow blanketed park leaving Kyohei feeling anxious about his assignment. The lively and cheerful attitude that enlivened the water park during his previous visit was nowhere to be found. Instead there was only the feeling of restlessness that a predator felt as it closed in on its prey. Behind the red tinted lenses of his mask the Uchiha’s eyes would peer down to the ground below, his eyes trained intently on two men as they skulked through the empty lot, seemingly searching for something.

His assignment was simple: hunt down and eliminate a target. Missives with instructions like this were not uncommon in the shinobi world, but had become a seemingly recurring theme since joining the Black ANBU. Sometimes he wondered how they got any business done with all of the previous business partners they seemed to off, but he didn’t ask many questions. It was not his place to ask for details and he wasn’t particularly interested in them either, it wouldn’t have changed anything. At the very least, knowing what kind of men he was being sent after allowed him to rest easily at night. Anyone who voluntarily did business with Enaka’s organization could hardly be viewed as a righteous man, but this one in particular was more than deserving of what was coming his way. A former slaver, the missive read. Apparently the only reason he stopped was because of internal trouble. Gods forbid that he recognized the faults of his own actions.

“Kimura Hideaki,” Kyohei said to himself solemnly as he grinned beneath his mask, “I’ve found you.” Before he could make his move and descend upon his target however, it became clear to him that there was a small wrinkle in his plan. His target and the man who accompanied him, who Kyohei could only assume was his henchman, were not alone. No, as they moved throughout the park they would advance upon a small boy, shackles and chains in hand, grabbing onto him as if he was being abducted. “Some people never learn,” Kyohei thought to himself before leaping down from the steel beams that supported him, “Time to go say hi.”

Silently Kyohei would make his way down to the ground, dashing back and forth between the shadows as he closed the distance between himself and his targets. Stopping about 20 feet behind the men he would stand silently, with nothing but his shadow cast over the two men’s location making his presence known. From behind the piercing red eyes of his mask he would stare the men down, not uttering a word. Could he have simply taken them out while they were distracted and be done with it? Of course, but what kind of punishment would this be if the men did not first experience the creeping touch of death as they looked upon the man that would end their lives.

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562~

"Property should never run away on their own... After all... You made your owner became worried as to where you ran off to.."

Hideaki continued on as he noticed a shadow envelop himself, his guard, and the captured boy. Alerted of the presence of another within their general vicinity, he quickly wrapped his left arm around Aiden, pulling out a dark weapon, though for those perceptive enough to see it can be described as a kunai, the sharpened tip a mere few centimeters away from Aiden's neck. After getting him within such a hold, the Kimura monster would turn around, forcing the shackled boy to act as a bodyshield of some sort. With his guard holding a crude blade towards the new arrival, and the master himself standing behind Aiden, threatening to stab the boy, the situation just became a bit more difficult. Looking at the armored figure himself, Akden noticed the glaring visor which his the figure's eyes, though an ominous feeling of some sort was still felt from behind the covering itself, as it the eyes held onto a power of some sort by themselves.

His master knew that he would be in trouble should the figure attack, closing distance from said mere 20 feet away in quickly, and so, on order to make a deal with him, he would first tighten his grip upon the boy himself and the blade, digging it slightly into his neck, though just enough so a small drip of blood would drip out. After a yelp of pain emerging from Aiden's mouth, his capturer revealed a confident, devious smile. "It would be unfavorable for me to have to damage my merchandise any more than it already has, and it would also be most unfortunate for you as well, stranger, as his blood would be on your hands. You appear to be someone strong though, someone which I could use. Perhaps you should join me and work for me? If you do so, then you can make quite a profit. If not though, then I suggest you leave, or else..." He momentarily paused as he had the blade shake a little, causing the piercing wound to open more into that of a cut, making some more blood drip from Aiden's neck. "Things will get ugly very, very quickly."

His guard himself simply stood in the new arrival's way, ready to fight him if the need comes to. Aiden himself also looked at the stranger, though with pleading eyes, as if begging whoever it was to help him. It was up to the stranger now to choose whether to leave or stay, and it would be up to him to quickly choose what action to take, as the clock is ticking, and soon enough someone will make a move.

The Uchiha would stand and wait in silence, listening to his mark babble on about nonsense as if it were going to save his life. “Unfortunate for who?” Kyohei would inquire, his aloof and callous tone echoing forth from behind his mask, “I don’t think you understand quite how this works. This is your master plan? Trying to guilt someone who kills as a profession into doing what you want by threatening to take the life of some random child? As if I’d ever work for someone as weak and pitiful as you. You couldn’t afford me anyway.”

Kyohei would let out an amused huff from beneath his mask, the sound of his voice ringing out with a slightly metallic ring. How amusing it was to see this man even in the face of death unable to show a single ounce of courage. Even in his last moments on earth he would shamelessly display why it was he no longer needed to exist to begin with. “Do I look like a superhero to you, Kimura?” he would announce coldly, “Do you think I was sent here to save that boy’s life? I was sent here with only the order to take lives, not rescue them. Threatening that boy’s life is costing nobody time but you. I’ll give you a ten second head start. I advise you start running.”

Without another word Kyohei would begin to slowly step forward towards his target and the hostage, his crimson red glare never wavering. Drawing a single kunai from his waist he would continue to close the gap between them, slowly and ominously. Then he would begin counting.

“One.”

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281 | 843~